Record 40 million children missed measles vaccine dose last year, CDC and WHO say

Almost 40 million children missed their first or second dose of measles vaccine in 2021 — a new record — as measles vaccine coverage reached its lowest level since 2008, according to a report in MMWR.

Unvaccinated children are at the center of an outbreak of measles in central Ohio that now numbers 32 cases.

According to the new report, authored by researchers from WHO, the CDC and universities in the United States and United Kingdom, in 2021, 25 million children missed their first measles vaccine dose and 14.7 million missed their second dose. Also in 2021, there were approximately 9 million cases and 128,000 deaths from measles across the globe.

Only 81% of children received their first dose of measles containing vaccine, leaving 25 million children vulnerable to measles, the researchers said.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, said the missed doses were a near-direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The paradox of the pandemic is that although vaccines against COVID-19 were developed in record time and deployed in the largest vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programs were badly disrupted, and millions of kids missed out on life-saving vaccinations against deadly diseases like measles,” Tedros said in a press release. “Getting immunization programs back on track is absolutely critical. Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of a preventable disease.”

CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, said the vaccination numbers demonstrate the “profound damage immunization systems have sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic,”

“Measles outbreaks illustrate weaknesses in immunization programs, but public health officials can use outbreak response to identify communities at risk, understand causes of undervaccination, and help deliver locally tailored solutions to ensure vaccinations are available to all,” Walensky said in the release.

According to the report, from 2000 to 2021, estimated global coverage for a first measles vaccine dose increased from 72% to a peak of 86% in 2019, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, this number decreased from 83% in 2020 to 81% in 2021. Measles incidence across the globe also decreased 88% during the period between 2000 and 2016, and measles deaths altogether decreased 83% in the last 21 years.

“To regain progress and achieve regional measles elimination targets during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating targeted efforts is necessary to reach all children with two [measles vaccine] doses while implementing robust surveillance and identifying and closing immunity gaps to prevent cases and outbreaks,” the researchers wrote.

Ephrem Tekle Lemango, PhD, chief of immunization for UNICEF, said the global health community has only a “short window of opportunity” to make up for lost ground.

“For 3 years, we have been sounding the alarm about the declining rates of vaccination and the increasing risk to children's health globally,” Lemango said in the release. “Widening gaps in immunization coverage are letting measles — the most contagious yet vaccine-preventable killer disease — spread and cause illness and death. We have a short window of opportunity to urgently make up for lost ground in measles vaccination and protect every child. The time for decisive action is now.”

References:

Columbus Department of Health. Measles case summary: Central Ohio outbreak. https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/columbus/viz/MeaslesPublicReport/MeaslesPublicReport?publish=yes. Accessed Nov. 28, 2022.

Nearly 40 million children are dangerously susceptible to growing measles threat. https://www.who.int/news/item/23-11-2022-nearly-40-million-children-are-dangerously-susceptible-to-growing-measles-threat. Published Nov. 23, 2022. Accessed Nov. 28, 2022.